This invention relates to an expert system for the analysis of organizational conflict handling procedures. Specifically, this invention relates to an expert system comprising both a method and an apparatus for the analysis of organizational conflict handling procedures to determine the absence or presence of adherence or lack thereof to predetermined rules and a preferred path for dispute resolution.
While no two businesses are identical, every business has essentially the same business interests. Those business interests include controlling costs, increasing market share, meeting/exceeding customer expectations, strengthening long-term business relationships, and increasing the value of the business. Another common element in every business is conflict. Predictable conflicts occur in three areas. These three areas are employees, customers, and business partners. Businesses that ignore these predictable areas of conflicts do so at their peril. Unresolved conflict contributes to high costs in organizations, and one of the most measurable costs is outside litigation expenses. It is not uncommon for large organizations to have litigation expenses in the seven and eight figure range. Litigation expenses represent a true waste for any business, since these expenses detract directly from the bottom line. Alongside legal expenses, however, are other costs associated with unresolved conflict, such as emotional wear and tear, lost business relationships, and high turnover. Other than abject neglect, the source of these unresolved conflict costs to businesses can be traced directly to weak systems for handling organizational conflicts. Weak systems are indicated by poor complaint-handling, communication, and negotiation skills of employees and managers; by grievance procedures based on a higher authority; by overuse of litigation to resolve disputes; by simply adding alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to an already weak system; by lack of continuity in systems for employees, customers, and partners; and by inadequate prevention procedures. Indicators of weak systems are also indirectly reflected by high litigation expenses, lost productivity, bad press, strikes/poor labor relations, lost business opportunities, and internal arguments over how or when to use alternative dispute resolution. Just as the prior art solution to solving unresolved conflict by way of litigation has been found to be no sure answer, yet expensive, so has the prior art solution of requiring singular solutions of such as alternative dispute resolution, or training of managers and employees, or other similar innovations such as online mediation for any and all unresolved conflicts.
What is required, and what applicant has developed, is an expert system for the analysis of organizational conflict handling procedures across and within all four boxes of an organizational template to determine the presence or absence of adherence or lack thereof to predetermined rules and a preferred path for dispute resolution. This is followed with recommendations for new organizational conflict handling procedures that lead to early resolution of cases, and hence, savings in time and money to all parties to the conflict. The expert system for analysis disclosed herein allows for diagnosis of existing organizational weaknesses, and then recommends corrective action (systems changes) through rewiring organizational conflict handling procedures, selecting key staff, and training all employees, thereby producing outcomes that benefit the entire organization. The expert system has achieved reductions in outside litigation expenses up to eighty percent annually. Alongside this material benefit are improved morale and cooperation in the workplace, retention of valued of employees, and strengthened long-term business relationships with customers and partners.